Former chief deputy caught pawning department gun

"A Yancey County News investigation has led to the arrest of a former chief deputy on a charge of felony embezzlement. In a year-long series of stories the paper found that a pistol, bought for the sheriff's department, had been pawned."

"The newspaper proved that the gun was listed on the inventory of the sheriff's department when it was pawned, and showed that the name of the individual pawning it was the same as the chief deputy who had control of and access to the weapon."